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The City of Vancouver’s plan to add more residences of up to six stories along major arterial routes throughout the city drew mixed reviews from people who live in the affected neighbourhoods.

Along the Main Street corridor in Mount Pleasant, with its vintage clothing stores, crowded coffee shops and hole-in-the-wall eateries, some residents worried that more people would mean more traffic, congestion and less of the independent businesses that give the neighbourhood its unique flavour.

“Main Street has this community vibe and I feel like they’re going to turn Main Street into a downtown kind of feel,” said area resident Kim Villagante. “I feel like it will just be busier, less of that small-town feel.”

However, most agreed that the city’s goal of making housing more affordable by increasing the supply is an important one. Marcy, who lives in the Fraser Street area, said rents in the neighbourhood have gone up significantly over the last few years.

“Better housing, more affordable housing can’t be a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination,” she said. Six-storey residences along Main and Fraser would certainly change the feel of the neighbourhood, she said, “but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing.”

Gary Richmond, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 30 years, said the area has changed significantly since he’s lived there and he is not opposed to seeing that change continue.

“At one time this was quite dead ... (now) it has a certain vibrancy and happiness to it,” he said, noting that more young families have moved in recently.

But he doubts the city’s plan to increase the housing supply will do much to bring down prices. Land values are unlikely to go down, housing will continue to be in high demand and the cost of construction is high, he pointed out.

“One of my worries is that new construction actually changes the atmosphere and it also will make retail rent higher ... which will mean that we’ll end up with a bunch of boutique stores instead of family-run restaurants and small businesses.”

Christopher Wong said he likes the neighbourhood just the way it is, especially its walkability. Reluctant to be classified as a “NIMBY,” Wong said he could support residential growth in the neighbourhood if it is sustainable, measured and doesn’t overtax the resources and infrastructure. He does not, however, want to see 20-storey highrises.

Such highrises are going up a little further to the east, along Vancouver’s Kingsway corridor, and to the detriment of the neighbourhood, according to architect Hubert Culham. The area, home to car dealerships, fast food and takeout restaurants, was unsightly even before the new developments, Culham said, but at least the buildings were of a similar proportion. Highrises, he said, destroy the scale and character of an area. This is why Paris banned them, and why it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, he said.

Had the city capped density in the Kingsway area at six or seven stories, “I’d send a letter of congratulations,” Culham said. But he noted that the city’s stated goal of encouraging residences of up to six stories along main arterial corridors does not prevent developers from applying and gaining approval to build highrises.

Collingwood resident George Taraviras, whose family owns a restaurant on Kingsway, said the new construction has been great for the neighbourhood and he would like to see it continue.

“If the area gets developed in the next 10 or 15 years, it’ll get more beautiful ... I think it’s an awesome thing. It’s about time.”

Nearby Norquay Park was redeveloped by the city as part of the new neighbourhood plan and become much more family-friendly as a result, he said.

“You go there on a hot day and it’s packed. I’ve never seen so many people and kids there. In the past it would be always empty, housing drug addicts.”

The neighbourhood loses business to the Metrotown area, he said. Affordable highrise homes to attract people at all income levels and attractions such as malls could give the area an “uptown” feel, he said.

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